'Oceans Must Take Center Stage at COP30': MEPs and Experts Urge Prioritization

'Oceans Must Take Center Stage at COP30': MEPs and Experts Urge Prioritization

The ocean is essential to limiting global temperature rise. It captures about 30 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and 90 per cent of the excess heat generated by these, but has been overlooked in the conversation about how to curb climate change. This is increasingly concerning as oceans suffer from the results of excess carbon dioxide, including acidification and rising sea temperatures. These have significant impacts on ecosystems, the communities that rely on them, and the ocean’s role as a climate regulator. “The globe is burning. Our oceans are boiling. Scientists speak of effects that we're having, heatwaves even in our oceans, and as we have the rising sea levels, submersion threatens us,” said French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening plenary of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice this week. The conference saw what Macron called “unprecedented mobilisation” for oceans, with over 120 countries, 50 world leaders and 10,000 people …